Hame and ham e-fastener



No Model.)

E GNTHER HAME AND HAMB PASTBNBR.

No. 556,924. Patented Mar. 24, 1896.

uw --.A n. Nwmw ff PATENT EMIL GNTHER, OF RACINE, lVlSC-ONSN.

HAlVIE AND HAM E-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters P atent No. 556,924, dated March 24, 1896.

Application filed July 5, 1895. Serial No. 554,919. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL GNTHER, of Raeine, in the county of Racine and State of lVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvement-s in llames and Hame- Fastenings; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this speciiication.

This invention pertains to improvements in llames, and rela-tes more especially to that class which are permanently secured upon the collar and so constructed that the combined haines and collar may be placed upon the horses neck and clasped or locke d thereon with the utmost expedition.

One of the principal objects ot' my invention is to provide an improved construction of the automatic locking devices by which the jointed collar and hames are secured in closed position about the horses neck. In this Aconstruction the lock snaps into engagement and is disengaged by a thumb-lever instead of by a key or other instrument, the thumb-leverbeing guarded against accidental movement, while readily accessible to the thumb or fingers.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved construction in the haines and their connections, whereby maximum strength is secured with the minimum weight of metal and reduced cost of manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel attachment which shall at once be secure and readily adjustable for securing the upper ends of the llames flexibly to each other and still another object is to provide for the automatic release ot' the elevated side of the open and suspended collar from the suspending strap solely by and inthe act of closing the collar about the horses neck.

To these ends the invention consists in the matter hereinafter set forth and pointed. out in the appended claims.

Describing the accompanying drawings as illustra-ting my several improvements, Figure l is an elevation of a collar equipped with a pair or" my improved haines, parts of the collar-roll being broken away to exposefthe securing devices. 2 is a detail of one of the tug-loops attached to a section of the tubu lar haine. Fig. 8 is a detail of one end of the top yoke, showing the construction of the adjustable clamp. Fig. Il is a detail of thc locking devices, showing parts in central vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the end of the haine which enters the lock and the rotary locking-tumbler which engages the hame.

In the drawings, A designates a collar of the usual construction and made open at its lower end.

B i3 designate the two haines arranged to lie within the crease between the roll a and the main body a' of the collar. The main body of each hame is shown of uniform size throughout, being preferably made from ordinary commercial drawn-steel tubing, bent in suitably-curved form to fit the collar. The upper ends of the haines are connected by means of a centrally divided and hinged yoke,comprised of the arms C C,each of which has at its outer end an integral eye c, through which the upper end of the adjacent haine may be inserted. Each yoke-arni is split longitudinally from its eye c inward a short distance, as at c', so as to permit a limited amount of expansion or contraction of the eye, and a bolt or clamping-screw c3 is inserted transversely through the split portion, whereby the eye may be clamped and thus iirinly secured upon the haine at any adjusted position.

D designates an upwardly-projecting eye or suspending loop secured to the yoke, preferably by means of the same bolt C which forms the pintle of the yoke-hinge, as shown, said eye being for the purpose of engaging with the strap by which the collar is held up and open 'in the barn, ready to permit the horse to walk beneath it.

E E E2 designate eyebolts, by means of which the haines are secured to the collar, said bolts being of suitable length to extend through the body of the collarfrom the crease inwardly and provided at their inner threaded ends with the usual washers and nuts or other fastenings. Each bolt is provided with a suitable eye or ring e2, through which the haine extends, and the upper bolt E of each side is also provided with a smaller eye e3 which carries the usual rein-ring E3.

At suitable points on each hame is mounted IOO a tug-loop F. As here dshowneach loop F comprises two studs f f mounted upon the hame by means of integral eye-rings f fL f lower protruding end, kor otherwise,and isprovided at its upper end with a hook f ar-y ranged withy its opening directed inwardly or f toward the roll of the collan In order that the tug-bolt may be preventedfrom axial rotation and the hook retained in thisposition, the aperture of the upper lug is made of other formthan cylindric and they shank ofthe bolt is correspondingly shaped, as at f, to it the same. The hook f5 is of such open form that when the collar is suspended at the ends of a strapby said hook and the suspending loop Dwi th the half of the collar carrying the hook said hook f5 will retain its engagement with the ring or hook on the suspending strap, but when the lower end of the said horizontallythe horses neck the hook f5 `will automatircally slip from the ring and release the collar.

The hook f is not necessarily formed on they tug-bolt,kbut may be a separate hook and .may

f be otherwise attached-as, for example, indicated by dottedy lines at f7. f y

Next describing the devees for locking the `,lo-wer ends of thehames, G designates a metal socket-piece, within one end g of lwhich ther end of the hame B is permanently secured by brazin g or otherwise. The other end contains the socket g, which is of cylindric form and terminates in a bell-shaped mouth g2 for the free reception of a stud projecting from the end of the other haine, B. II designates this stud, which is of solid metal, one end thereof being permanently secured within the end of the hame B and the protruding portion II being adapted to laterally .till the socket g. An annular flange 7L on the stud II determines the extent to which it may be inserted into 1 the socket, said iiange forming a shoulder against which the bell-mouthed end of the socket abuts when the hames are brought together.

I designates a tumbler rotatably mounted within an aperture extending transversely through the lower part of the wall of the socket g. The central part of the tumbler, which lies partly within the socket g, is cut away at one side, as at fz', so as to permit the entrance of the cylindric end of the stud H when rotatedso as to bring said recess t' uppermost. The stud Il has a corresponding transverse recess or concave depression h2 on its under side which registers with the tumbler I when the parts are brought to their final relative position forlocking, and permits said tumbler to rotate back to its normal position,

from the socket.

adapted to release the stud IVI. suspended half of the collar is drawn down to 1 The tumbler I is normally held with its re cessed or cut-away portion opposed obliquely to the kentrance Lof the locking-stud Il by ymeans of a coiled spring .I acting on the end L the spring J, so as to permit the entrance ot the stud,r and when the stud has fully entered the socket, kso that the notch or recess in its under side comesinto register with the tumblery I, the latter is rotated by the spring .I f back to its normal position, in which it en-` gages the notch in the stud and prevents its l withdrawal. A suitable stop, as if, serves to When it is desired to separate the hames,

ythe free end of the lever I' is pressed with the thumb so as to yturn the tumbler to a position I2 is ya chambered part of the socket-piece i G, constructed to form a housingandguard for the thumb-lever I". y

tom and all sides except that toward which f It isl closed atthe botthe lever I is moved by the spring J and on i this open side extends preferably a little beyondy said thumb-lever to yguard the latter against accidental movement tounlocking po-y sition.' The chamber or housing is of suitable size to admit a'mans thumb or finger, so that the latter maybe used to press back the thumb-lever when desired, thus avoiding the need for a special tool for this purpose, which might not always be at hand. The thumbf lever is shown as a separate piece from the tumbler and is inserted intothe latter through the mouth of the lever-guard chamber after the tumbler has been putin place.

K designates the usual pole-strap loop pivotally secured to the lower part ofthe socketpiece G by means of a transverse bolt K.

It is to be noted that not only are the haines i adjustable for length with great facility, but

that this adjustment, as well as the adjustf able attachment of the hames to the collar, is

provided for without weakening the hames, as would be ifapertures or recesses were made therein for this purpose.

Theconstruction by which the thumb-lever is permanently attached tothe tumbler of the lock, and at the same time so housed as to prevent accidental unlocking while permittig easy access thereto, I deem a feature of es- 4 pecial importance, since the ham-es are always ready for instant detachment, as in the case of a horse falling and becoming entangled or disabled, so that the harness must be removed.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination with a pair of hames, of

y locking devices for securing their ends tothereby locking the stud against retraction gether, comprising a socket upon the end oi one hame; a locking-stud on the end of the limitthe-rotationof the-bolt under the action ofthe spring J. f f5 in a substantially horizontal position the roo other haine, said looking-stud being provided in its lower side with a recess; an oscillating, notched tumbler arranged transversely Within the lower part of the socket, adapted to engage the recess of the lookin gstud; a radial thuinbdever attached to the tumbler; ahousing open at one side which ineloses and guards the thumbdever, and a spring arranged between the thumb-lever and the interior back of the housing for holding the tumbler in engaging position substantially as described.

2. In combination with a separable collar having a suspending attachment at its top, of a hook attached to one side of the collar and EMIL GNTHER.

NVitnesses:

FRANCIS I-IENsoN, ALBERT L. ANDERSON. 

